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16 Pages, 2 Sections, Plus Preprints A Publication of MainStreet Newspapers, Inc. Winder, Barrow County, Georgia $1.00 Copy Wednesday, September 29, 2021 COVTD-19 UPDATE County death toll moves up to 171 The Georgia Department of Public Health in the past week added four more C0VID-19-related deaths to Barrow County's tally, bringing the total of deaths among county residents since the start of the corona- virus pandemic to 171, with five additional “probable” deaths due to the disease. It's not clear when each of the deaths occurred, as the state has frequently noted a delay of up to two weeks in reporting and confirm ing deaths. As of Tuesday afternoon, Sept. 28, 22,228 COVID deaths had been confirmed across the state, and the national death toll stood at just under 692,000. The latest death totals come as Georgia and Bar- row County have continued to see a recent dip in cases from the latest peak in early September. The state con firmed another 35 cases in the county Tuesday with a seven-day rolling average of 34.6. Area hospitaliza tions also continued to de cline, with Northeast Geor gia Health System reporting 219 confirmed-positive pa tients across its facilities as of Tuesday afternoon. That number included 13 pa tients at Northeast Georgia Medical Center Barrow in Winder and 57 at NGMC Braselton. Barrow’s rate of ful ly-vaccinated residents ticked up slightly in the past week to 38%, while 43% have received at least one dose. Those numbers still trail the statewide figures of 47% fully vaccinated and 54% with at least one dose. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the Advisory Committee for Immuniza tion Practices (ACIP) are recommending COVID vaccine booster shots for See COVID, page 2A Index: Public safety 5A Lifestyle columns 8B Classifieds 4B Legals 5-7B Obituaries 6-7A Opinion 4A Sports 1-3B County plans to extend EMS transitional budget Hospital system still hiring paramedics By Scott Thompson sthompson@barrownewsjournal.com Barrow County plans to extend its transitional EMS budget another three months through the end of the calendar year as Northeast Georgia Health System continues work on hiring em ployees to take over ambulance transport ser vices within the county. During its work session Tuesday, Sept. 28, the county board of commissioners agreed to move the extension to the consent agenda for its Oct. 12 voting session and is set to approve roughly $158,000 out of contingency funds to fully fund the EMS department budget through December. The BOC in July reached an agreement to out source ambulance services to NGHS and its af filiate, Northeast Georgia Physicians Group — a move several years in the making that stemmed from discussion between county officials and commissioners that the county was having more difficulty fully staffing all of its ambulance needs amid both a continuously growing pop ulation in Barrow and a nationwide struggle by local governments to hire paramedics. Two weeks before that agreement was ap proved, the BOC approved a three-month tran sitional budget that was slated to extend through this month while NGHS got its staffing in place to take over the ambulances. That process has taken longer than expected, Barrow County Emergency Services deputy chief Heath Wil liams said, though he added that health system officials had assured him they would not need any longer than the end of the year to fully take over operations. Under the outsourcing agreement, NGHS/ NGPG will staff four 24-hour ambulances and two 12-hour ambulances, which will be housed at BCES fire stations with the exception of the unit that is already stationed at Northeast Geor gia Medical Center Barrow. The county will re tain the EMS zone license. ELECTION 2021 VOTE J M # / Stock image Voter registration deadline Monday Those wishing to vote in the 2021 municipal elections in Barrow Coun ty or on the countywide SPLOST ref erendum must be registered to vote by Monday, Oct. 4. Elections are being held Nov. 2 for city council seats in Winder, Auburn and Statham. In Winder, Ward 1 incumbent Son ny Morris is facing challenges from Matthew Redfern, Melissa Baugh- cum and Yvonne Greenway. Ward 3 incumbent Jimmy Terrell is opposed by Danny Darby, and at-large coun cilman Chris Akins is being chal lenged by Stephanie Britt, Jerry Mar tin and Beth Speights. In Auburn, incumbent councilmen Bill Ackworth and Robert Vogel III and challenger Taylor Sisk are vying for the two open seats. In Statham, Parker Elrod, Debi Krause, Lee Pat terson, Scott Penn, Janel Piper and Barnard Sims are vying for three open council seats. Incumbents Betty Lyle, Dwight McCormic and Tammy Crawley opted not to seek re-elec tion. Ethan Breazzano, who qualified to run, has withdrawn from the race, saying in a statement that he was informed by his employer that his candidacy presented a “conflict of interest" with his employment with a law enforcement agency in another county. Voters in each municipality, as well as those in other municipalities with out an election and in the unincorpo rated areas of the county, will also be able to vote on the SPLOST 2023 referendum, where they’ll be asked to continue, for another six years, the county wide 1-cent special-purpose local-option sales tax that helps fund various capital-improvement projects around the county. SPLOST 2023 collections would begin as soon as SPLOST 2018 collections hit their limit. Voters can register to vote or check their registration status at registerto- vote.sos.ga.gov. Absentee ballot applications are now being accepted through 4 p.m. Oct. 22. You can contact the county elections office at 770-307-3110 to obtain an application. Ballots must be returned to the elections office no later than 7 p.m. on Nov. 2. All advanced voting will take place at the county elections office, 233 East Broad St., Winder. Dates and times are 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. Oct. 12-16, Oct. 18-23 and Oct. 25-29. Election day polling hours are 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Auburn voters will vote at Hmong New Hope Alliance Church, 1622 Union Grove Church Rd. Statham voters will vote at Barrow County Emergency Services Fire Station 1, 1625 Bethlehem Rd. Winder voters and all others will vote at their coun ty precinct. Your precinct location can be found on the Georgia Secre tary of State’s My Voter Page at mvp. sos.ga.gov. Authorities seek help locating missing teens As of Tuesday morning, Sept. 28, authorities in Bar- row and Oconee counties were still seeking the pub lic’s help in locating a pair of teenagers, described as runaways, who have been reported missing since Sept. 18. According to authorities, James Ethan Dutton, 17, of Winder, is believed to have left the area with his girl friend, 17-year-old Olivia Warren of Oconee County, on their own accord in a blue 2003 Pontiac Sunfire on Sept. 18. The two had last been seen together that evening. Dutton is a white. 5 feet, 11 inches tall, 150 pounds, with brown hair and blue eyes and was last seen wear ing gray sweat pants and a sweatshirt. Warren is white, 5 feet, 2 inches tall, 110 pounds, with brown hair and “greenish-blue” eyes. Anyone with informa tion on their whereabouts is asked to contact Detec tive Andrew Still with the Winder Police Department Dutton Warren at 770-867-2156 or Andrew. still@cityofwinder.com. or Investigator Golden Sand ers with the Oconee Coun ty Sheriff’s Office at 706- 769-3945 or gsanders@ oconeesheriff.org. Winder man killed after being hit by car in Athens Athens-Clarke County police on Tuesday, Sept. 28, were still investigating the death of a Winder man who was hit by a car early Monday, Sept. 27, while walking in a road way. According to police, John Joseph Walling. 32, was killed at 12:09 a.m. Monday when he was hit by a Honda Civ ic near the intersection of Jefferson and Oak Grove roads. Police said Walling was walking north in the middle of the right-hand, southbound lane when he was hit, according to a report from the Athens Banner Herald. The driver of the car, a 29-year-old Hull man, and his 28-year-old passenger both received minor injuries, according to a police report. No charges had been filed as of Tuesday morning, but the crash remained under investigation, the newspaper re ported. Anyone with information on the case is asked to contact Officer Zachary Compton at 762-400-7377. MAILING LABEL Leftover Pets to provide free vaccines through national initiative Barrow County-based nonprofit Leftover Pets, Inc. will provide free vaccinations for area pets through a national initiative, leaders have announced. The vaccines are made possible through Petco Love’s new initiative, which is providing 1 mil lion free pet vaccines to its existing animal welfare partners, including Leftover Pets, for families in need, according to a news release. Parvovirus and distemper in dogs, and panleukopenia in cats, are some of the most prevalent deadly diseas es impacting pets that are prevent able with a simple vaccine, leaders said. An estimated 30% of pet par ents do not take their pet to a vet erinarian annually for preventative care, according to the release, and the goal of the initiative is to “make pet vaccines free and accessible in an effort to ensure the health and wellness of our beloved pets.” Leftover Pets aims to vaccinate 400 pets through the effort, leaders said. Vaccinations will be available on a first-come, first-served basis, and the organization is offering them as part of its spay/neuter pack age through Nov. 30, while supplies last. Vaccines distributed through the Petco Love initiative will be the DAPPv Canine and HCP Feline vaccines. Leftover Pets, Inc. always provides a rabies vaccination at no charge with spay/neuter for any dog or cat 12 weeks of age or older. Mi crochip with free lifetime registra tion is available at the time of spay/ neuter for $15. “Thanks to Petco Love, we can offer these important vaccines at no cost to pet owners,” said Susan Thompson, co-founder and chief ad ministrative officer of Leftover Pets. See Pets, page 2A o 1 4 5 4 1 Stock image O